Sugar-cane mill



A. KRUSE.

SUGAR CANE MILL APPLICATlON FILED APR. 18. 1919.

1 ,3 3 1 O 1 6 Patented Feb. 17,4920.

AUGUST KRUSE, 0F WAIMEA, TERRITORY OF HAWAII.

SUGARGANE MILL.

Specification of Letters Patent.

Patented Feb. 17, 1920.

Application filed April 18, 1919. Serial No. 291,155.

To all whom it may concern:

Be it known that I, AUGUs'r KRUsn, a citizen of the United States, residing at lVaimea, Kauai, Territory of Hawaii, have invented certain new and useful Improvements in Sugar-Cane Mills; and I do hereby declare the following to be a full, clear, and exact description of the invention, such as will enable others skilled in the art to which it appertains to make and use the same.

The invention relates to means for regulating and controlling the maceration fluid, either in the form of water or thin cane juice, to the bagasse as it passes from one mill to another, the regulation being effected by and in accordance with the depth or thickness of the bagasse blanket traveling from mill to mill so that when the.

blanket is thick, a relatively large amount of maceration fluid will be supplied and when the blanket is thin, the quantity of maceration fluid will be commensurately decreased, but under all conditions of operation, the maceration fluid will be supplied in proportions commensurate with the amount of bagasse passing through the mills, of which amount the thickness of the bagasse blanket is a direct factor, with the result that by the application of an exactly determined proper quantity of maceration fluid, an increase of sugar. extraction with a minimum of maceration fluid results, with a corresponding decrease of moisture of the final bagasse, which increases its fuel value. To these ends, the invention comprises means for supplying maceration fluid to the ba gasse whichmay take the form of the usual supply and spray pipes for delivering the maceration fluid over the bagasse blanket as the latter travels between the mills, and suitable regulating means, preferably in the form of a valve or valves in the supply pipes, the extent of opening of which is controlled directly by the thickness of the bagasse blanket.

The invention is illustrated in the accompanying drawings, in which,

Figure 1 is a side elevation of the essential elements of one mill of a train illustrating a simple exemplification of the invention, involving a control valve in the maceration fluid supply pipe, the opening and closing of which valve is controlled by the position of the movable roll of a mill.

Fig. 2 is an enlarged section through the pivotal support for the valve actuating lever.

Fig, 8 presents an end and side elevation of the shoe which is connected to the valve actuating lever and engages the end of the roll therewith.

Fig. 4: is a front and side elevation of the bracket in which the lever pivot is adjustably mounted.

In operating sugar cane mills, it has heretofore been the general practice to permit maceration fluid in the form of water or thin cane juice to flow in a constant stream on to the blanket of bagasse passing from mill to mill, the fluid usually being delivered by transverse spray pipes which are connected to the source of fluid supply. Owing' to the conditions of operation, it is found practically impossible to maintain an even, uniform feed of cane through the mill, so that the blanket of bagasse passing through the train is irregular in thickness. lVith a constant flow 'of maceration fluid, the thicker portions of the bagasse blanket are insufiiciently macerated, causing a reduction in the sugar extraction, and the thinner parts are deluged with the liquid, which eventually requires an excessive amount of evaporation and leaves the final bagasse, which is usually employed for fuel, too moist.

As heretofore indicated, it is the purpose of the present invention to regulate and control the amount of maceration fluid supplied to the bagasse blanket in accordance with the thickness of the blanket and therefore insubstantially exact proportion to the amount of bagasse passing from one mill to another, such regulating control being produced by the blanket and preferably by the relative movement of the movable or pressure roll of the mill due to the varying thickness of the blanket passing through the rolls.

In the drawings, a simple and effective form of apparatus to produce this result is illustrated, and involves a regulating valve applied in the pipe supplying the maceration fluid, which valve is opened and closed to an extent exactly proportional to the up and down movement of the top roll of the three-roll mill illustrated, by means of a lever mechanism connected with the valve on one hand and operated by the end of the top roller shaft or journal which extends through, the mill housing.

Referring to the drawings, 1 indicates the mill as a whole, which is of the three-roll which moves up and down in'the housing in accordance with the thickness of the blanket of bagasse passing through the mill, as will be understood, 2 indicates the projecting end of the shaft for journal of the upper roll which partakes of the up and down movement of said roll. 3 indicates the usual form of supply pipe for mac eration fluid, which may be water or thin cane juice, depending upon the particular portion of the mill train to which the maceration fluid is applied. Said pipe 3 is supplied with the usual spray head or manifold, not shown, which serves to deliver the maceration fluid in spray or jet-like form to the surface of the blanket of bagasse passing to the mill. It will be understood that in a train involving several mills, a supply pipe for maceration fluid will be applied to deliver the fluid to the bagasse blanket passing between each two of the mills of the series, and preferably each supply pipe will be provided with supply regulating devices. Interpolated in the'supply pipe 3 is a regulating valve 4 which may be of any suitable or convenient type, the stem of which is connected by a coupling 5 to the end of a-lever 6, which is pivoted intermediate its ends on a suitable bearing. 10, and is provided at its other end with a shoe 7, connected to the lever end by a pivot joint 8, said shoe engaging the under face of the end of the shaft or journal 2 of the top roll of the mill. In order to maintain the shoe 7 in contact with the journal 2 and cause the same to follow the movements of the top roll, a spring 13 or similar power applying device is connected to the valve end of the lever 6. In order to adapt the mechanism to mills of various types and sizes and to regulate the extent of movement of the lever and the opening and closing movements of the regulating valve 4, a special form of pivot mounting for the lever is provided, the same consisting of a bracket 11 secured to the mill housing provided with a longitudinal slot 12, which receives a locking bolt 15 secured to the bracket by a nut 16, said bolt having'a flangedhead 18 which engages the interior of an annular collar 17 having a transverse slot through which the lever 6 passes, said collar carrying a screw-threaded plug 19 which clamps the lever 6 in position. This construction of pivotal support admits of the collar 17 pivoting on the stud member 15 to accommodate the rocking motion imparted to the lever 6. By adjusting the stud 15 longitudinally of the slot 12 in the bracket 11, the lengths of the respective arms of the lever'6 may be varied and a corresponding variation in the movement of the valve 4 by the lever produced.

When the mill is in operation, the top 4 .amount of maceration fluid 'which may be readily determined by 'a skilled mill operative, the pivotal point said roll rises and falls, the shoe 7 connected to lever 6 will partake ofthis movement and rock lever 6 to a corresponding extent, thereby moving valve 4 commensurately, so that the supply of maceration fluid through the pipe 3 will be regulated in exact accordance with the movement of the top roller and therefore in correspondence with the quantity of bagasse passing to the mill. For example, if the blanket of bagasse is thin the top roller will be elevated only a short distance so that the valve 4 will be only partially opened. -When the bagasse blanket increases in thickness, the top roller will be moved upward a greater distance and the valve 4 will beopened to a greater extent to supply the necessary and predetermined amount of maceration fluid to effect the best results. When no bagasse is passing through the mill, the top roll moves to its lowest position and the valve 4 is closed, therebyshutting off the supply of maceration fluid. To regulate the maximum supplied,

of the lever 6 is adjusted by means of the bearing 10 by slacking off the nut 16 and sliding the stud 15 in the slot 12 of bracket 11 and when the proper adjustment has been effected, settingup the nut 16 to clamp the stud 15 in position. It will be noted that the device as described, can be applied toany standard mill without changing any ofthe component parts thereof, or altering the operation of the mill as a whole, inasmuch as the apparatus can be applied to the outside of a mill housing. It will also be understood that the invention is not limited to the particular device I '2. A sugarcane mill comprising a conduit for supplying maceration, fluid to the bagasse, a regulating valve in said conduit, and means controlled by the thickness of the bagasse blanket for regulating the extent of opening of said valve.

r A sugar canemill comprising a condult for supplying maceration fluid to the bagasse, a valve in said conduit, a lever for operating said valve, and means 00- operating with said lever to move the same and vary the opening of the valve in proportion to the thickness of the bagasse blanket.

4:. Apparatus for supplying maceration fluid to a sugar cane mill, comprising a' fluid supply pipe, a valve in said pipe, and means controlled by the thickness of the bagasse blanket passing to the mill for controlling the extent of opening of the valve.

5. Apparatus for supplying maceration fluid to a sugar cane mill, comprising afluid supply pipe, a valve in said pipe, a lever connected to said valve and controlling the opening thereof, and a shoe connected with said lever and engaging the movable roll of the mill, whereby the valve is opened in accordance with the thickness of the bagasse -blanket passing under said roll.

6. Apparatus for supplying maceration fluid to a sugar cane mill, comprising a fluid supply pipe, a valve in said pipe, a lever of the first class connected to said valve and controlling the opening thereof, and a shoe connected with said lever and engaging the movable roll of the mill whereby the valve is opened in accordance with the thickness of the bagasse blanket passing under said roll.

7. Apparatus for supplying maceration fluid to a sugar cane mill, comprising a fluid supply pipe, a valve in said pipe, a lever of the first class having an adjustable fulcrum connected to said valve and controlling the opening thereof, and a shoe connected with said lever and engaging the movable roll of the mill whereby the valve is opened in accordance with the thickness of the bagasse blanket passing under said roll.

AUGUST KRUSE. 

